insufficiency
Americannoun
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deficiency in amount, force, power, competence, or fitness; inadequacy.
insufficiency of supplies.
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an instance of this.
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inability of an organ or other part of the body to function normally.
cardiac insufficiency.
noun
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Also called: insufficience. the state of being insufficient
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pathol failure in the functioning of an organ, tissue, etc
cardiac insufficiency
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of insufficiency
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Late Latin word insufficientia. See insufficient, -ency
Vocabulary lists containing insufficiency
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
While they identified a relationship between food insufficiency and sports gambling, they noted that direct causation for such a large issue is difficult to establish.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
Even the White House communications staff has tacitly admitted that something is going on, though all they will say is Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, a conveniently benign condition.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2026
He went to Walter Reed three times last year, including a trip to address the swelling of his lower legs, which his doctor diagnosed as chronic venous insufficiency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Shrubsole noted that vitamin D insufficiency is widely recognized as a public health concern in the United States, and many patients are advised to take supplements based on blood test results.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 30, 2025
I'd filed a lengthy brief that documented the insufficiency of the evidence and raised every legal deficiency in the trial that I could identify.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
In it, he asked in a general, spiritual way, that God would welcome him to internal life "despite all my sins and insufficiencies".
From Reuters ● Jan. 1, 2023
The script’s insufficiencies are softened by the company’s attitude — warm and inclusive — toward the audience.
From New York Times ● Dec. 14, 2022
Like the Bible, the census is vulnerable to the insufficiencies of language and the human compulsion to put one’s own stamp on events.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 19, 2022
Do you have something specific you point to as causing these insufficiencies in the marketplace?
From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2020
I looked away, suddenly conscious of my myriad insufficiencies.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
